East Sakura, Capital.
In the wealthy district, inside a villa, a young girl sat by the window in a daze.
Her na is Asuka Seii, her mother died on the day she was born.
Her father is critically ill and has co to Capital Cancer Research Hospital for treatnt.
Asuka Seii’s family is not affluent.
To save money, during the ti Asuka Seii was accompanying her hospitalized father, she couldn’t afford a hotel, and could only stay at her uncle’s house.
"Ti to eat."
Her aunt called from downstairs.
She rather wished people didn’t have to eat.
Asuka Seii wiped away her tears and walked downstairs.
At the corner of the staircase, she overheard her uncle and aunt talking.
Her aunt said:
"Look at this family of poor relatives, shalessly living in soone else’s ho, she doesn’t know any sha."
Her uncle sighed:
"Do you think I enjoy having them here?
When Dad passed away, my brother only took the useless Seii Shrine, he didn’t take any other inheritance.
You think, if we kick her out now, will our reputation still be good?"
Asuka Seii stood at the corner of the stairs, cautiously retreating back upstairs.
It’s as if, by doing this, she hadn’t heard what they said.
The aunt called upstairs:
"Asuka, it’s ti to eat."
Asuka Seii walked downstairs again.
.......
At the dining table, only the five-year-old child of her uncle’s family spoke at the table:
"Why are you still at my house? When will you go back to your own ho?"
Her uncle and aunt laughed, saying not to take the child’s words to heart.
Asuka Seii just silently ate her food.
At this mont, the phone rang.
Her uncle went to answer it, returning shortly after, looking serious, saying:
"It’s the hospital calling, let’s stop eating and go over there."
A sense of foreboding grew in Asuka Seii’s heart.
......
At the hospital.
Asuka Seii clung to her father on the hospital bed, crying inconsolably.
Her father, who was once a very strong man, now is so thin, almost thinner than her.
Her father gently stroked Asuka Seii’s head:
"Asuka, papa isn’t dying. Papa is going to live sowhere else.
There’s nothing scary there. Think about it; your grandma, grandpa, mom are all there.
My poor child, you have to take care of yourself in the future."
Asuka Seii just continued crying.
Her father tried hard to maintain a smile, and said:
"Child, at ho you must properly honor the shikigami left by our ancestors.
They will surely bless you and help you grow up well.
Don’t forget about the bond our family has with them.
Back then, your mom and I also t there."
Asuka Seii nodded solemnly:
"I will definitely serve them well."
Her father’s gaze began to fade, his hand dropped weakly:
"Everything is quite fine, papa doesn’t hurt anymore..."
Asuka Seii held her father’s body and cried out loudly.
......
Seven days later, East Sakura Country, Ban City, Seii Shrine.
Asuka Seii returned to Seii Shrine.
It’s unclear when it began, but the descendants of Abe no Seii stopped using the surna Abe, and instead used the surna Seii.
Her father said this was the highest respect for their ancestor and the greatest recognition of the Yin Yang Masters.
Asuka Seii carried her luggage to the guest room in the shrine.
The guest room at Seii Shrine was also where she and her father lived.
Asuka Seii tidied up her room, walked to the courtyard, and knelt before each statue to offer incense.
These statues were either the shikigami of the legendary Yin Yang Master, Abe no Seii, or known Great Demons.
In truth, she wasn’t sure if the stories about Yin Yang Masters were true.
She didn’t know if those Great Demons had really existed.
However, she felt a connection to these statues in the courtyard.
As Seii Shrine had beco a playground, very few people ca here, resulting in poor ticket sales.
Thus, Seii Shrine had no staff; only her father and Asuka Seii worked here.
Asuka Seii sat on the steps, gazing at every plant and tree in Seii Shrine.
In every corner, there was her father’s presence.
Asuka Seii smiled.
She felt that her father was still with her.
Asuka Seii picked up the broom and started cleaning the courtyard.
Then, her phone rang.
Asuka Seii answered; it was her uncle.
Her uncle said:
"Asuka, you’re a girl, it’s quite hard on your own.
Your aunt and I discussed it and planned to buy Seii Shrine.
That way, your life can be more abundant."
There was a hint of flattery in her uncle’s voice, a tone Asuka Seii had never heard before.
In fact, Asuka’s uncle had heard rumors that the authorities wanted to acquire Seii Shrine.
It would surely fetch a good price.
Asuka Seii politely declined her uncle’s offer.
Seii Shrine is her ho; how could she sell her own ho?
All the mories with her father are here.
Besides, she has her own bond with the statues in Seii Shrine.
Her uncle was angry:
"While your father was hospitalized, you ate our food, lived in our ho, don’t be ungrateful."
Asuka Seii still refused.
She was not that kind of naivety.
She knew that after her grandfather’s death, he left a large inheritance.
Her father only wanted Seii Shrine; the rest of the money and property went to her uncle.
And she had only stayed at their house for a few days.
Her uncle issued a final ultimatum:
"If you don’t sell Seii Shrine to , don’t expect peace in the future."
Asuka directly hung up the phone.
......
At night, Asuka sat on the steps, dozing off.
Suddenly, several molotov cocktails were thrown into the courtyard from outside.
The courtyard caught fire.
Asuka awoke with a start, panicking as she attempted to put out the fire.
This area is a suburb with few visitors, which explains why business is bad.
At this mont, the only one who could save the shrine was herself.
The fire grew larger, beyond what Asuka could control.
Asuka rembered her uncle’s words.
"If you don’t sell Seii Shrine to , don’t expect peace in the future."
This was orchestrated by her uncle.
Asuka was extrely aggrieved, she knelt on the ground, praying to all the shikigami and Demon King in the courtyard:
"If you still exist, please save Seii Shrine, please save ."
Then, sothing unexpected happened.
A grand, ancient, ominous, black door appeared in the sky.
Asuka stared dumbfounded at the door.
She rubbed her eyes, confirming this wasn’t an illusion!
Did the Demon Kings in the courtyard reveal themselves?
The door opened, out walked a Black Dog, a White Wolf, and a little white wolf cub.
Slowly, a pack of wolves erged from within the door.
The Black Dog was evidently surprised to see soone here, it stared dazedly at Asuka.
The wolf pack surrounded Asuka, their expressions unfriendly.
Asuka blinked:
"A-Are you the Great Evil Demon King?"
Asuka rembered her father ntioning the na of a powerful demon.
It was called Great Evil Demon King, capable of summoning a door connecting Hell, the Mortal World, and the Celestial Realm.
The Celestial God once wanted the Great Evil Demon King to serve the Celestial Realm as the Celestial God’s mount.
The Great Evil Demon King, arrogant and unruly, believed the Celestial God was insulting it, resulting in a battle with the Celestial God.
The Celestial God couldn’t overco the Great Evil Demon King, thus deceiving it into Hell, entrapping it there.
This door, this black dog, wasn’t this evidence that this was the legendary Great Evil Demon King?
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